Posts Tagged ‘soup’

This recipe is the result of a sad moment in Chicago Supermarket history. A stalwart in the industry, Dominick’s Finer Foods (that’s what it was called at one time) closing it’s stores and leaving the market. Started in the early 1900’s by Dominick DeMatteo the stores served our community offering quality product at a realistic price.

My local store, as well as those in other areas, began selling their wares at deeply discounted prices. On a couple of my recent ventures to MY store I purchased dried Porcini, Oyster and Chanterelle mushrooms at a great price. I didn’t know what I was going to do with them until it came to mind that I hadn’t made a good soup in some time. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

You will need:

Dried Mushrooms  approx. 5 oz. I used an assortment as mentioned above.Sweet Onion  1 medium size.Bacon  3 slices.Beef Broth  2 cups – I used low sodium Swanson or if you have it home made works great. For vegetarian use a good quality vegetable stock.Soy Sauce  2 TBSPHeavy Cream (Optional) &#151

Let’s start. In a 4 quart measuring cup add dried mushrooms and fill with warm water, let soak for approximately 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into one inch or so pieces and place in a food processor, run until it is finely chopped. Heat a stock pot large enough to hold all of the elements and add the processed bacon. Cook slowly until all of the fat is rendered. While that is working slice the onion as thinly as you can and when the bacon is rendered add it to the pot. Cook slowly until the onion is a rich dark brown. Remove the mushrooms from the soaking liquid, reserving liquid, and finely dice. Add mushrooms to the onion/bacon mixture. Sauté for about 10 minutes until the mushrooms dry a little then add the reserved liquid, be careful to pour it slowly from the measuring cup so that any dirt stays at the bottom, add the beef stock. Bring pot to a simmer and cook for approximately 15 minutes. Let the mixture cool slightly and put into a food processor or blender (in batches) and process until you get a smooth, mixture. Check for the consistency, if it is too thick add more broth. You can turn this into a Cream of Mushroom by adding some heavy cream, just use enough to provide the taste and texture you desire. Enjoy!

Sorry folks this isn’t a quick recipe, it’s going to take a day or two but the results will be great. The good thing about this one is that you actually get 2 for 1 deal. First the beans then the soup. The beans work well as a side dish or main meal and using them to create a this Bean/Corn Soup you can’t go wrong.

Start with the beans, in a container large enough to hold the entire package and enough water to cover soak beans for 12 hours or overnight.

Once soaked drain them and place in a large stock pot with enough water to cover by at least two inches. Add all the remaining ingredients except the corn kernels and chicken stock. Bring pot to a slow boil and turn heat down to a low setting. It will take a while to cook but this slow method will help to thicken the final product without the need for a roux or other thickener.

The beans should be done when the ham hock/shank meat separates from the bone. You can also tell by taking a few out of the pot and taste, they should be just at the al denté stage. At this point you have a great pot of beans. You can portion out several meals using some for a side and some for the soup.

Now the soup part. Depending on how many servings you want to make remove a sufficient quantity of the beans and place in another stock pot. Add the packaged corn kernels and chicken stock. How much chicken stock to use is a personal choice. The more stock you use will produce a thinner soup. Some recipes might suggest that you blend a portion of the soup however I find that this is an unnecessary step.

It’s nearing that time of year again when this delicious, little known mushroom, will be ready to be harvested. One would be surprised at the size and weight that they can reach. My largest find weighed in at a hefty 40lbs. I used some of it fresh and have dried them for future use. Also known as the Miatake they have both culinary and medicinal qualities.

I’ve been working on a mushroom soup using this along with other fungi and will post it as soon as I create, taste and test.